Hi everyone,
a couple of interesting jobs this week, among the dozens of routine ones.
Just in case you're new to this page, or have never had a real-life chat with me, the notion of "routine" is GOOD!! Standard, routine jobs, that turn out exactly as predicted, are what all technicians love! These jobs may be simple or complex, can take five minutes or five hours, but if everything that you anticipated was able to be dealt with accordingly, then it's a "routine" job.
This can be a jack socket replacement on a Squier Strat, or a neck-reset on a $25,000 Martin!
Earlier this year I took on the restoration of a PRS guitar that had been damaged by a ceiling fan. Ok, firstly don't laugh. I've had more than a few guitars come to me that have suffered the same trauma!
This particular guitar was owned by a well-known and respected Australian guitarist (I actually have some of his records!), and was previously owned by a VERY well-known Irish guitarist.
The ceiling fan drove a sharp slice into the side of the neck. Nothing structural at all, but a hideous gouge!
I was able to fill the gouge and repair the difficult finish (pearl white) using Tamiya acrylic lacquer. It took perhaps an hour or so of labour, spread over about a hundred ten-second spray coats and some sanding!
The result is great! Much better than I'd even hoped. Almost invisible. A satisfying job if there ever was...
And today I spent about the same amount of time trying (and eventually succeeding) to remove two dead and very bloated AA batteries out of a horrible D-Tar pre-amp in a nice Guild acoustic.
I have to clean it up further, and so still don't know if it's going to work. Horrible job.
So that's my line in the sand. I have had a notice on the shop wall for years saying that I don't work on acoustic guitar electronics other than to replace them, and from now on that's a strict policy.
I fix guitars. And I despair that manufacturers fit cheap electronics to guitars that will far outlast them. Every day I see guitars that will last for 50 to 100 years that have been fitted with complex electronics that may last for a tenth of that. Even the major manufacturers such as Martin and Gibson are installing electronic stuff that will certainly fail perhaps decades before the guitar itself needs work.
You surely know how your mechanic sometimes refers you to an auto electrician?? Well, that's my approach regarding complex electronics in guitars. Simple, passive electronics, such as those in your Strat, Tele or Les Paul are easy - I do that stuff in my sleep. But if there is power (either mains or battery) or a PC board involved, then you need the equivalent of an auto electrician - a specialist electronics tech.
I fix guitars, not the stupid rubbish electronic gadgets that the manufacturer's marketing guys assume that everybody wants.
If you want to amplify an acoustic guitar then my recommendation has always been to buy the guitar that you really want, and then fit an unobtrusive, replaceable system such as the LR Baggs Element or Anthem.
Andrew
